Warriors duo named in England Sevens squad

Warriors duo Richard de Carpentier and James Stephenson have been named in the England Sevens squad for the Wellington leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

Stephenson will be in line to make his international debut along with Warwick Lahmert, a former New Zealand Sevens player, while De Carpentier is set to feature in his third England Sevens campaign.

Head Coach Simon Amor said: “We’ve lost some experienced players ahead of this leg, but it’s great to bring back Marcus Watson and we’re extremely grateful to Warriors and Dean Ryan for allowing both Richard De Carpentier and James Stephenson to join us.

“It’s also pleasing to bring Warwick in who has World Series experience with New Zealand and has the potential to be a great player for us.”

England will face Papua New Guinea, Canada and hosts New Zealand in Wellington and Amor is expecting a tough test.

He added: “It’s a tricky one. Papua New Guinea are a little bit of an unknown quality but they have a strong Fijian influence and will be dangerous.

“Canada will be extremely physical and then New Zealand will of course be a real challenge on their own turf.

“It’s a challenge, particularly with the inexperienced group that we have heading out there, but we’ve trained well and it’s a challenge we’re looking forward to.”